DARTMOOR National Park - an area of great natural beauty located mainly in the Southern half of the county of Devon - packs an enormous amount of interest into quite a small area. It is actually never more than 30 miles across and takes up just 368 square miles, but that's still plenty large enough to get lost in and people often do. There is a bleak and wonderful wilderness feel about the high moor which is quite different from the deeply incised valleys, and it is these contrasts which help to create a truly dynamic experience for ramblers and photographers who venture here.

IN this collection of images gathered from a variety of my digital cameras over the years ranging from little P&S to DSLR, I have endeavoured to capture the essence of Dartmoor as we see it today, not just the rocks and open spaces but including the towns and villages as well as the landscapes, and I've added descriptive captions and occasional links where I feel they may be useful. Please visit my "Dartmoor in Detail" gallery later for more pictures of the main sites of interest.

GEOLOGICALLY, Dartmoor is an old, exposed and heavily weathered granite landform which rises to approx 2,030ft in the North. Essentially an intrusive batholith with the top layers now eroded away, the moor is flanked by an aureole of metamorphic rocks which became mineral-rich when 'baked' at the time of the intrusion, and which have subsequently attracted mining down through the ages.

DEEP valleys with active streams of beautiful clear water due to the high rainfall, rocky tors (exposed granite outcrops on the top of the higher hills), peat bogs, moody weather (sometimes severe so do take care), and an even moodier timescape of history going back to the Iron and Bronze ages with a good measure of medieval and 18th & 19th centry folklore, make Dartmoor a paradise for photographers who like to put some moodiness into a picture.

I really would encourage you to visit the Dartmoor National Park in the county of Devon here South West of England and bring your digital camera, any digital camera: Photographic opportunities abound whether you want to access them from nearby roads or enjoy a hike into the remote and quiet centre of the moor where the sounds of modern life can be pleasingly absent. (When did you last hear silence and use your ears without filtering out the ambient noise of modern living?)

The light is always changing and rewards the patient photographer. I don't recall anyone ever saying it was a waste of time carrying a tripod and some ND Grad filters (really great for Dartmoor skies) or that they came back home empty handed. At 50 degrees North, Dartmoor is ideally positioned for directional light which is not too harsh, so study an Ordnance Survey map of the area and plan your photographic trips to take the season and time of day into account. Often a place will look quite different in morning or evening light and a sense of bleakness at one time of the day might be altogether different at another. Above all, try to be imaginative and look for relevant secondary items of interest in the foreground to help your photos stand out from the crowd.

Most recent photos at the bottom end of the gallery.
* For commercial use of any of these images please email imagseer@aol.com
Dartmoor lovers and organisations promoting the wellbeing of the moor are welcome to link directly
All Photos Copyright 2009 John Farrar. Many more in my "Dartmoor in Detail" Gallery.